Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by the Total Book Geek. The purpose of this bookish variant is to match a book with a particular song; whether it is character defining, a narrative element, or just an overall book defining track.

So why am I doing this? Well if I had to choose to only have one of the five traditional senses, it would be sound perception above all else. And hey I think it’d be neat to share music I listen to on a daily basis!

This Week’s Song:Storytime, Last Ride of the Day, & Scaretale – Nightwish

Book Selected:Night Terrors – Tim Waggoner

Initial Thoughts:

So after weeks of mellow music, I’m going to bring in a curveball with this selection—it’s symphonic metal. This genre may not be for everyone, but if you’re willing, have a listen! You can skip my long rambles and just listen to the music if you wish, it’s going to be a long post that makes no sense whatsoever (even to me…).

After reading Night Terrors by Tim Waggoner – it was basically a no-brainer that I had to choose something from Nightwish’s – Imaginaerum album. The high-concept of the album is quintessentially a metaphorical reflection on one’s life at a point near death—namely to engage life retrospectively through the eyes of a child. The basis of the term: Imaginaerum, is for all-intents-and-purposes, a spin on sanitarium to depict a world where one’s imagination can be healed.

To explain Night Terrors as succinct as possible: the narrative involves a parallel world, Nod, which exists as a haven for all nightmarish creatures conjured by everyday people. Audra is one of these individuals; an Ideator, someone who has conjured up a metaphysical carbon copy of her childhood nightmare (known as an Incubus/or Succubus—but no one uses this term). His name is Jinx, and he’s a Clown. The plot almost follows a ghoul-of-the-hour undertone considering it dabbles with many regular horrors/fears individuals have today. But with the meticulous and surreal world-building presented through a very dark alternate world existing in the shadows, there are many elements that I’m reminded of in this album that deftly exemplifies the reflective nature of the concept regarding metaphysical existence and the value that even the scariest form of life can shape us in unimaginable ways.

I have to break the song selection into three parts: Nod, Incubus, Ideator. No matter if you consider these three from left-to-right or vice-versa, the concept and meaning derived is still the same. Each song portrays a different perspective of the concept of life and existence in that through all the retro/prospective reflection, all you can really do is to live in the now.

From an overarching umbrella, Storytime regards the perspective of the Land of Nod. In its entirety, the lyrics almost paint the picture of a sentient entity being the all-encompassing ruler of this parallel world.

The middle ground is Scaretale pertaining to the Incubi, fitting neatly between both spectrums of a creation of their Ideator (below) and living at citizens in Nod (above). They’re intimidating, horrific, and everything that would be associated with scary-come-to-life.

From a smaller scale, Last Ride of the Day considers each and every single Ideator who has materialised an Incubus into existence. This song plays tribute and pulls from elements of the previous songs as these individuals are the one who have to juggle the fact that their Incubus has a personal association while realising that there’s a world beyond what one can truly understand.

Part 1: Nod (Song choice: Storytime)

Excerpt

It was the night before,
When all through the world,
No words, no dreams
Then one day,
A writer by a fire
Imagined all of Gaia
Took a journey into a childless heart…

A painter on the shore
Imagined all the world
Within the snowflake on his palm
A dream of poetry,
I’ll tell is over
Cutting in,
Falling back in to the stars…

I am the voice of never, never land,
The innocence of dreams from every man,
I am the empty grave of Peter Pan,
A soaring kite against the blue, blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear

Part 2: Incubus (Song Choice: Scaretale)

Excerpt

Once upon a time in a daymareDying to meet you, litlle child, enter enter this sideshow

Time for bed, the cradle still rocks
Thirteen chimes on a dead man’s clock
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock

The bride will lure you, cook you, eat you
Your dear innocence boiled to feed the evil in need of fear

The pendulum still sways for you
Such are the darks here to show you, child in a corner
Fallen mirrors, all kingdom in cinders

Part 3: Ideators (Song choice: Last Ride of the Day)

Excerpt

We live in every moment but this one
Why don’t we recognize the faces loving us so

What’s God if not the spark that started my life
Smile of a stranger
Sweet music, starry skies
Wonder, mystery wherever my road goes
Early wake-ups in a moving home
Scent of fresh-mown grass in the morning-sun
Open theme park gates waiting for

Riding the day, every day into sunset
Finding the way back home

Once upon a night we’ll wake to the carnival of life
The beauty of this ride ahead such an incredible high
It’s hard to light a candle, easy to curse the dark instead
This moment the dawn of humanity
The last ride of the day

Afterthoughts:

If none of this makes sense, sorry. It doesn’t 100% make sense to me either because there’s so much variants that can be drawn from their songs. Maybe I’ll make more sense when I post an ARC review for this…